Pages

Nov 28, 2016

The two thriller writers Steve Berry and Raymond Khoury while attending Thrill-fest convention in London are kidnapped. And the secret agents Cotton Malone and Sean Reilly were summoned via a coded message to track down two Americans.

The kidnapper asks Berry and Khoury to create a story of an antagonist who wins in the end using a devastating act of terror, so that he use that plot to have a name alongside Bin Laden. Both the authors brainstorm to create plots which were already in the books of several authors. Same time Cotton and Sean track one thug but they were imprisoned next to the authors.

Did the authors created a unique plot for the act of terror? or Did the authors and agents escape from the clutches of the kidnapper? all these are in the remaining pages of the action packed short story. It is a real life authors meeting their fictional characters in their life.

I liked the way the authors have poked fun on themselves and also they have mentioned many other thriller authors. Like I said before the story has humorous moments and action side by side.

Plus the book also had sneak peak on Raymond Khoury's "The End Game" and Steve Berry's "The 14th Colony".

The book is about the interaction of Dr. Dan Burisch who worked in S4 of Area 51 with an alien named J-Rod. Dan was abducted as a child, which in turn increased is intelligence. There are many diagrams, computer generated images and photos of the alien and in the end of the book they have given list of books related to UFO and Area 51.

More of the book is available in DVD and can be accessed through their website.

The book mainly deals with publication dates of Outlander series books, short stories and novellas like Lord John. And the book did not tell us in which order we should read, which is a bit disappointment. I got this book from Kindle unlimited download with a bonus material How to fast reading.

Nov 24, 2016

This is the second book of Time Ship (at present Book Two is rechristened as "Free to Infect, First to Die (21st Century Pirates Inc. #2) In Book one, it is the year 1699, Captain McGregor who after successfully defeating pirate Captain William Kidd and escapes with stolen treasure meets with an intense electrical storm and they were transported to the year 2014, Puerto Rico.

In 2014, four hurricanes entwines creating a Hunraken Vortex, a research airplane headed by Kate tries to capture the happenings in the vortex, as pre planned they time travel back to 1699.

The book one ends with the pirates capturing a beach resort and hilarious adventures of the pirates as they cannot fathom the new world. Unknown to them they have time traveled and also they are infected with plague.

Book Two: The resort manager Miss Sally meets face to face with Captain Rob and makes him understand that the pirates were in the year 2014 and not 1699. After some of his crew falls sick, the doctor of the resort finds out that they are infected with a bubonic plague (biovar of Yersinia pestis) the Captain lays down his arms and ask the doctor to treat his crew.

The beach resort taken over by pirates reaches the world and they feel they are terrorist adorned in authentic pirate costume. But the real threat is known to W.H.O. and they send medicine and volunteers. Anton Lebsky Leader of the W.H.O along with his assistant Moira Cerny digs to find out the proper cure for the plague..

The situation turns worse as people in the resort and Sally were affected by the plague. The President of the U.S. R.W.Gains was advised for a professional and scientific recommendation that is to implement Piras Plan by Anton Lebsky. A fighter jet with N-648 Nuclear Incendiary Device is kept ready.

At the same time the treasure in the ship gets leaked while fumigating, the Governor and the Superintendent of Puerto Rico devices a plan to steal the treasure after implementation of Piras Plan. 24 hour dead line is fixed for Piras plan by US.

Did the plague was contained in the beach resort? What happened to the pirate treasure? What is the story of Captain McGregor? Like Ann (Captain Robs wife), Sally too succumbed to plague? Did Derek and Colonel Patterson behind Hunraken Vortex research finds Kate's message from 1699? What that has to do with the future of the world?

All these are revealed in the last half of the novel. A little mention about the humour, how pirates perceive simple products we use in our daily life below are a couple of items:

Shower they call it as falling water curtainFridge/Refrigerator - White Safe Box

The book is wonderful time travel adventure and also a page turner, I liked the first book and this second book did not disappoint me. Well done Ian expecting such stories from you.

This book is from Kindle Unlimited and the first part is free to read.

Nov 16, 2016

A different kind of book, writing style very different and I have not read such kind. Initial few pages I cannot interpret and felt she is roughly introducing but later on I came to understand that is her style.

I have a habit of revealing more of the story in writing, so it is better for me to stop here so that you can enjoy the mystery.

A different kind of book, writing style very different and I have not read such kind of writing. Initial few pages I did not understand and felt she is roughly introducing but later on I came to understand that is her style.

I have a habit of revealing more of the story in writing, so it is better for me to stop here so that you can enjoy the mystery.

Nov 13, 2016

A dystopian world 800 or so years from now, divided and ruled by several tribes. The world is affected by Red Death a kind of plague which had wiped majority of human race. Purity, Faith and Strength is the motto of a tribe which is isolated on a peninsula surrounded by a river, a religious group named Eden. The protagonist of the story is Aaliss a highly trained Guardian and she has two brothers one is elder named Piers and the youngest named Wilky. The tribe is ruled by a High Priest and a President. Their religious leader is Jacob. Unlike other tribes Eden is protected from the outside world, other tribes die of Red Death. All other tribes people were called as soulless by Eden.

Wilky is a genius kid, with his vision he finds the cure for Red Death and treats one soulless girl belonging to Butcher tribe. The High Priest who is cunning politician of our time, did not wish to leak the secret. As the High Priest holds the place after the revered Jacob, he thinks by mixing the potion in the wine he can save the people of Eden from Red Death and at the same time he will be regarded as a Prophet. To get the name he tries to kill Wilky, and Aaliss comes to know about this and she escapes from Eden with Wilky and the soulless girl.

The potion is mixture of a particular flower and a mushroom which grows outside of Eden. The High Priest sends his most trusted assassin Viper to kill Aaliss and Wilky. On the way the girl takes them to their tribe. The Butcher tribe is ruled by Dermot a popular king he has two brothers one is wicked Fintan and another is handsome Eamon. King Dermot is having the symptoms of Red Death, Fintan with his aide Cormac conspires to kill Dermot and capture the throne.

But Aaliss, Wilky were held in a prison and they the butcher tribe did not believe a cure for Red Death. Eamon wants to save his brother Dermot from Red Death and makes arrangement to save Aaliss and Wilky from the hold, they travel through a forest to get the mushroom and the flower. The group is hindered by many obstacles ranging from a witch to killing birds.

Same time P'mina a girl belonging to Painted ones tribe (governed by a Tribal mother) tries to meet her mother who is believed to be living in a forest and prove to her tribe that her mother is not a witch. She goes missing and her sister Kalhona comes in search for her. All the above characters I have mentioned meets in the forest.

Did Aaliss and Wilky find the cure for Red Death, did Eamon saves his brother from the evil plans of Fintan, did Kalhona meets her sister who is captured by the Red Witches, did Aaliss and Eamon find their love? Who is Jacob? is he a real God? All these are answered in the remaining chapters of the book.

Every character has their own agenda. Aaliss has to save his brother Wilky, Wilky has to distribute the potion to cure Red death. Eamon wants to save his brother King Dermot, Fintan wants to rule the tribe, Viper the assassin wants to kill Aaliss and Wilky. As their are many characters the author Jeff Altabef has cleverly given the link for cast of characters at the end of each chapters.

All the characters are well developed. The author ends some of the chapters with a cliff hanger, the story is fast paced and an exciting read.

I received this as a free E-book and I am eagerly waiting for the second instalment.

Nov 4, 2016

The author Martin Phillips who had graduated with a double major in History and Archaeology from University of Cambridge had worked as an archaeologist and had acquired the skill from various excavation sites. From the authors own words about the book:

"In this book we're going to take a journey through the ancient civilizations that have passed into the annals of history, sometimes leaving only traces of their once great cultures. From the Ancestral Pueblo Culture in North America to the Khmer Empire in Asia and beyond we will discuss these enthralling peoples, what we know about them and what they left behind".

I was amazed when I came to know about some of the lost civilizations like Ancestral Pueblo Culture and Khmer Empire which I have did not know existed. And as well as how some of the civilizations dwindled.

Below is the list of lost civilizations the author has written about:

1. The Minoans

2. The Mycenaeans

3. The Olmecs

4. The Chavin

5. The Nabataeans

6. The Nazca

7. The Moche

8. The Aksum Kingdom/Empire

9. The Ancestral Pueblo Culture (Anasazi)

10.The Maya

11. The Khmer Empire

12. The Toltec

13. The Aztecs

14. The Inca

15. Lost Cities (Bonus feature)

The author has neatly mentioned each civilization by giving appropriate headings: Introduction, What did they left behind?, Interesting facts, What happened to them?

In bonus chapters the author has given exhaustive details about Baiae. It became famous by Romans for the bathhouses as it is situated near volcanic region. The city was abandoned in 1500 AD (CE) due to epidemic of malaria and the city gradually sunk due to the volcanic exhausts in the area. This information made me curious to know more about this city and searched for the images. The city now is tourist spot one can hire a boat with glass bottom or go for scuba diving to get a first hand experience.

Baiae lies submerged in just a few feet of water, with all streets, imperial luxury villas and statues (image from message to eagle.com)

And finally I will say that this book will help us to get a brief note on some of the worlds lost civilizations how they progressed and in some cases how they declined. I enjoyed reading this book and expect to purchase some of his other books from kindle.

Nov 2, 2016

I bought this book through kindle unlimited. This is the first time I am reading the book authored by John Gaspard. Josiah Manning is a guy who supports for anti-death penalty and anti-suicide. His adversary Harley Keller is leader for pro-death movement. One day in the house of Harley, both Josiah and Harley are found dead. The case is looked like that Josiah Manning came to Harleys house killed him first and then shot himself. Homicide detective Fred Hutton believes Josiah is the killer but his wife Deirdre (I don't know how to pronounce her name) who has close working relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department's Homicide division thinks that Josiah is not the killer.

She and Fred Hutton approaches Eli Marks the stage magician to use his unique perspective (in her words a bizarre way of looking at things) They all visit the crime scene. By his unique perspective way and his knowledge in trickery he finds out who was the real killer.

The story is superb with three main characters, I enjoyed reading. And I have read this book twice.